(2) K-3 Illustrated by Will Terry. Children's poets such as Alice Schertle, J. Patrick Lewis, and Douglas Florian write about the yuckiest of insects, including lice, ticks, bedbugs, stink bugs, and, of course, the venerable cockroach. The poets use a variety of styles while maintaining a consistently humorous tone. If the words don't get your skin crawling, the vividly colored illustrations will. Three pages of facts are appended.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2012

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Stephen Alcorn. In the manger on the first Christmas night, Mary describes the quiet she craves as she cradles her newborn baby and wonders "what will become of him." Alcorn includes classic Nativity elements in his muted, soft mixed-media illustrations. Hopkins's lyrical text lacks focus and presents an adult longing that is unlikely to speak to young children.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Marcellus Hall. Kyle writes a play about a moon; Katie writes a play about the stars. The play they write together about both moon and stars is best. (All three short plays are included in the book.) Emergent readers may appreciate the basic vocabulary and the encouragement to keep writing. Muted illustrations with a retro-1950s feel support the simplicity of the message.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Marcellus Hall. Using rhyme, repetition, and alliteration, the poems in this collection take a dog traveler and his bird companion to different cities around the world. From Washington, D.C., to Tokyo, Hopkins describes with gentle adoration the elements of city living. Hall's brush, ink, and watercolor illustrations skillfully incorporate landmarks (e.g., the Eiffel Tower, Venice canals) and complement the poetry with thoughtful perspectives.

Reviewer: Chelsey Philpot

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Marla Baggetta. In this collection of short poems defining words such as alphabet, elevator, ornithologist, and zoos, Hopkins not only chooses unusual terms but also juxtaposes playful and surprising concepts within each description. For example, K for Kitchen, "A / room / where / garlic / and / cupcakes / kiss." Bold, colorful full-page illustrations make this an attractive volume.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Leslie Staub. Sacajawea, Abraham Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, Thomas Edison, and Langston Hughes are some of the sixteen Americans whose lives are celebrated in this collection. Poets include Jane Yolen, Nikki Grimes, J. Patrick Lewis, and Alice Schertle. Each poem faces an oil portrait of its subject rendered in a folk-art style. Brief biographical information about each person is appended.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(2) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Illustrated by Brian Floca. Twenty poems in a variety of forms explore the pleasures of sport. Although this is not a novel theme for a poetry anthology, what gives the collection its distinction is its perfect pitch for beginning readers. The poems are short and so are the words; images are immediate, and rhyme supplies good clues for new readers. Energetically illustrated, the book provides a brisk workout for readers new to the team.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 1999

(4) PS Illustrated by Kathryn Brown. Whether one is looking for silly poems, finger plays, or poems about a secret place, Hopkins's collection for very young children has something for everyone. In addition to poems by Robert Louis Stevenson, Edward Lear, and David McCord, the book includes new work commissioned for this volume. Brown's watercolors add fanciful settings for the fifty-three poems, although some pictures feel heavy and overworked. Ind.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) K-3 Of the twenty-two selections in this book, almost one third aren't actually prayers but poems about prayer or God. Nevertheless, people of many faiths will appreciate the familiar and new passages celebrating God's hand in creation and expressing thankfulness for blessings received. Schaffer's oil paintings show children of various ethnicities engaged in everyday activities.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.